You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
korrick 's review for:
Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall
by Kazuo Ishiguro
Back in the day, I thought I was the music type. More than a decade of enforced piano lessons plus a robust taste in diverse genres, the latter of which, unlike everything else, continues to this day, made me believe that I wanted to do more with music than listen to it. So, I took a class in music theory, asked for an electronic keyboard for my high school graduation, added books like this and 'Words With Music' to my TBR. and even went to a few concerts, but all this was merely a side effect of my having been raised to have a worth ethic in place of a personality. Coming to this work nearly a decade after, I thought six previous Ishiguro's, five of which were four stars or higher, might be enough to overcome my having grown out of juvenile indoctrination, in addition to my usual lack of engagement with short stories. However, I get the feeling that Ishiguro, having acquired a great deal of cred at this stage in his writing career, decided to do something different: something a lot more [b:A Visit from the Goon Squad|7331435|A Visit from the Goon Squad|Jennifer Egan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1356844046l/7331435._SX50_.jpg|8975330] or [b:Norwegian Wood|11297|Norwegian Wood|Haruki Murakami|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1386924361l/11297._SY75_.jpg|2956680] (although it's been a long while since that second one, so pardon if my comparison is a bit weak) than I've grown to expect from him. It's due to the extended and, for the most part, highly gratifying reading relationship that I've had with this author that I'm less disappointed with this result than, oddly, almost cheered in seeing Ishiguro feeling comfortable enough to experiment a tad, even if I don't like the results. So, a pretty eh read, but a satisfying continuation of nearly decade long author-reader relationship.
Out of all of these, the work that jarred with me least would have to be 'Malvern Hills'. This is because it was the least sunken into the side effects of the 20th/21st century music scene, with its stars and and pretty faces and drama that turn the whole thing into an immortal high school scene. Instead, we have a young person negotiating their own individual contract between their dreams and their food on the table in a foreign (for me, at any rate) landscape, plus a healthy enough appreciation for the listening and the composition that didn't devolve (entirely) in domestic disputes. All the others just didn't feel in any way relevant, or, when relevance fails, informative, or, when informative fails, entertaining. Instead, there was music,but most of it was wrapped up in the sort of heterosexual nonsense that pieces of entertainment like to present at the norm (see 'Marriage Story' for more of that), and what was left afterwards felt drained, or at the very least noncommittal. I could've chalked this up to my music tastes not lining up for the most part (anyone know what monumental dance is? or aggrotech?), but 'Come Rain or Come Shine' was just so ridiculous that I felt comfortable not doing the whole benefit-of-a-doubt dance with this one. And honestly, in the wake of Ishiguro winning a Nobel Prize for Lit to boot? He really does not need my pity.
I hope that this isn't the end of my journey with Ishiguro. [b:The Buried Giant|22522805|The Buried Giant|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451444392l/22522805._SX50_.jpg|41115424] doesn't appeal at the moment, but I can see myself grabbing it if I've already reread [b:The Remains of the Day|28921|The Remains of the Day|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327128714l/28921._SY75_.jpg|3333111] and the Ishiguro-urge comes upon me, especially since historical fiction and vaguely magical intimations, if handled properly, are already jams of mine. He's an author who's been a pleasurable read for so long in my reading career that I'll always have a measure of loyalty towards him, and in the wake of ever increasing prestige, it'd be nice if he came out with at least one more work that I felt pleasurably disposed towards. Still, I have at least five works of his that, as the years go by, I can see myself coming back to and hopefully not be disappointed by (although, with my track record, even Ishiguro may not survive a revisit, leastwise not brilliantly). There aren't many authors who have have a similar track record with me, so it's always nice to be reminded that I have a place of comfortable familiarity to return to in future reads, old and new. After this, I know that novels are probably the way to go, and that if there's any music involved, it'd be better if it were a side effect rather than a cause.
Out of all of these, the work that jarred with me least would have to be 'Malvern Hills'. This is because it was the least sunken into the side effects of the 20th/21st century music scene, with its stars and and pretty faces and drama that turn the whole thing into an immortal high school scene. Instead, we have a young person negotiating their own individual contract between their dreams and their food on the table in a foreign (for me, at any rate) landscape, plus a healthy enough appreciation for the listening and the composition that didn't devolve (entirely) in domestic disputes. All the others just didn't feel in any way relevant, or, when relevance fails, informative, or, when informative fails, entertaining. Instead, there was music,but most of it was wrapped up in the sort of heterosexual nonsense that pieces of entertainment like to present at the norm (see 'Marriage Story' for more of that), and what was left afterwards felt drained, or at the very least noncommittal. I could've chalked this up to my music tastes not lining up for the most part (anyone know what monumental dance is? or aggrotech?), but 'Come Rain or Come Shine' was just so ridiculous that I felt comfortable not doing the whole benefit-of-a-doubt dance with this one. And honestly, in the wake of Ishiguro winning a Nobel Prize for Lit to boot? He really does not need my pity.
I hope that this isn't the end of my journey with Ishiguro. [b:The Buried Giant|22522805|The Buried Giant|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1451444392l/22522805._SX50_.jpg|41115424] doesn't appeal at the moment, but I can see myself grabbing it if I've already reread [b:The Remains of the Day|28921|The Remains of the Day|Kazuo Ishiguro|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327128714l/28921._SY75_.jpg|3333111] and the Ishiguro-urge comes upon me, especially since historical fiction and vaguely magical intimations, if handled properly, are already jams of mine. He's an author who's been a pleasurable read for so long in my reading career that I'll always have a measure of loyalty towards him, and in the wake of ever increasing prestige, it'd be nice if he came out with at least one more work that I felt pleasurably disposed towards. Still, I have at least five works of his that, as the years go by, I can see myself coming back to and hopefully not be disappointed by (although, with my track record, even Ishiguro may not survive a revisit, leastwise not brilliantly). There aren't many authors who have have a similar track record with me, so it's always nice to be reminded that I have a place of comfortable familiarity to return to in future reads, old and new. After this, I know that novels are probably the way to go, and that if there's any music involved, it'd be better if it were a side effect rather than a cause.